Following Pittsburgh’s loss, the Patriots are now in command in the AFC

With losses by Baltimore and Houston over the weekend and Pittsburgh on Monday night, the Patriots are now in the drivers’ seat in the AFC.

New England can clinch the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC if they can win their last two regular-season games of the year, home contests against Miami (on Saturday) and Buffalo (the following Sunday).

New England, Pittsburgh, Houston and Baltimore all entered the weekend with identical 10-3 records. But while the Patriots beat the Broncos in Denver, Pittsburgh suffered a Monday night loss to the 49ers, the Texans lost to the Panthers and Ravens lost to the Chargers on Sunday. That left New England as the top seed in the AFC with an 11-3 mark.